Addison laughed. “I can’t wait to tell her that.”
“Do not tell her anything,” he warned.
“Come on, Rhyse, are you worried I’m going to ruin your reputation?”
“There are some things that should not even be joked about.”
“Ugh, relax. I won’t tell her anything. Now kiss me, tell me how hot I am, and then get the fuck out of here. It’s getting…early.”
“Every hour on the hour, Addison. I will remain in the city, but cannot phase until the sun goes down.” He kissed her, growling when she pulled back. “Do not worry about bringing any of your clothing—we have enough kindling at home.”
Home? She held back her mini-freak-out until right after he left.
She found her phone and changed into something more comfortable, amused by the image of Rhyse’s face tonight when he saw her wearing sweats. He would probably rip them off her.
That might be fun.
Next step: Dawn. Addison hated goodbyes and didn’t entirely believe one was necessary. It wasn’t as if she’d never come back. And after seeing Dawn at the party and their weird talk on the phone, Addison stalled for a while, hoping she would go away. By nine o’clock, she remembered patience wasn’t in her skill-set and went outside.
“How long have you been sitting there?” she asked.
Dawn whirled around, then pointed to the street. “How did you…?” Then looked at Addison. “I was knocking forever. Were you in there this entire time?”
“Rhyse dropped me off or phased me in or whatever.”
“Rhyse, the Prime?” That sounded a little too judgmental for Addison’s liking. Unfortunately, if she stayed with Rhyse, Dawn wouldn’t be the only one looking at her differently, so she’d better get used to it.
“Do you need something, Dawn?”
“I wanted to see if you were okay.”
“I’m fine.” Addison waited. “And so is Logan. He’s fine, too.”
“Oh, good.” This was, without a doubt, the most stunted and awkward conversation they’d ever had. “Yeah, I wasn’t sure what happened to him.”
“He fixed the line of salt and saved a lot of lives.” While most of the supers did nothing. “Is your warlock okay?”
“Yeah. He was right by the door when it started, but I wasn’t. He looked for me everywhere but couldn’t find me.” The front door had been the first thing to catch on fire. That’s why there was so much chaos—everyone had tried to get out the other exit. If the warlock was by the front door, then he must have run for it right away or he wouldn’t have gotten out that way at all.
While Rhyse saved Addison and helped save everyone else, Dawn’s date ran for it and then lied about it afterwards. Nice guy. Feeling ultra-defensive, she almost said something. But that discussion wouldn’t do anything but make things even more uncomfortable. If that was possible.
Dawn looked at her watch. “Shit. I gotta go. Wanna get coffee later?”
“I have some stuff to do, but maybe. Hey, do you know a seer named Parker?” How many ‘Parkers’ could there be in the Heights?
“The historian?”
“Yeah.” A historian. That made perfect sense considering how much she’d known. “Do you know where she lives?”
“She got pretty banged up at the celebration, so I’d guess she’s still at the hospital.”
“Duh, of course she would be. My brain hasn’t functioned properly for…ever. Days seem like weeks here.”
“You mean with the Prime.” It wasn’t a question, it was a snide comment. If their roles were reversed, Addison probably would’ve thought the same thing, but she’d never say it. As far as Dawn knew, Addison was Rhyse’s toy. So why say something that would accomplish nothing but making her feel worse?
“Yeah, I meant with the Prime,” she snapped. “With all the orgasms he gives me it’s hard to think clearly, you know?”
Dawn’s eyes grew and her mouth opened. “Okay. Well, call me…or I’ll call you.” Addison waved at her back as Dawn rushed off. She’d spent a few hours on the front stoop for a two-minute conversation about nothing.
Seers are weird.
Forty-nine
Like everyone else, Addison hated hospitals. Even the people who worked there looked miserable. Busy, focused, really frigging tired, and miserable. End of shift maybe. She remembered those.
She stopped in the middle of the lobby, thinking about her old life. That was gone now. Most of it sucked, but not all of it. Even with the strongest shield, it was too risky to put herself in situations where it was called for. Had another disposal tech already taken over her route? What about her apartment—was she going to keep it? And what the hell was Rhyse to her? You can’t call a three-hundred-plus-year-old vampire your boyfriend. It’s just not right.
Ugh. This is sooo depressing. This place and this life. Focus on the less awful one.
She followed the signs to the department she hoped Parker would be in. She’d gotten pretty busted up, but not enough to still be in the ER. Addison turned a corner and saw an angel staring at the closed door in front of him.
Maybe he was here for a seer—a child who died and came back cursed. The family would be ecstatic because they didn’t know what the kid’s future held. She backed up, remembering her shield was no match for an angel’s power. It was best to just stay away.
The angel turned towards her and said hello. “There is no need to run away, Seer.” He called her seer. That was a good indication he didn’t sense more about her, right? And running away now would seem suspect. Who runs away from an angel?
“Are you here for a new seer?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“Oh.” She heard sniffling from inside the room, a murmur of grief from a family already in mourning but still hoping for a miracle. Not knowing there was an angel just outside, waiting until it was over.
”And I thought my job sucked.”
“At times it does, yes. But not always.” When he faced her directly, she took a step back, ready to bolt if she felt him push on her shield. “I saw you at the celebration. With—”
“I know,” she grumbled. “With the Prime.”
He shook his head. “With an angel.”
Oh shit, did she get Micah in trouble? “Is that not allowed?”
“It is, although it is uncommon. Have you seen him recently?”
“M? No. I’ve been…occupied.”
“If he visits you, please tell him S needs to speak with him.”
“You can’t just call him?”
He stared at her silently.
“Okay, sure,” she said. “I’ll let him know…if I see him.”
He looked at her for another moment before turning back to the door and closing his eyes. “I must go.”
“Yeah, okay. Take care.”
“May you have peace.”
“What are the chances of that happening?”
“Very, very slim.”
“Thought so.”
She got Parker’s room number from a highly caffeinated nurse. Before she went in, she stared at the curtain for a while. This could be a huge mistake. Huge. And fatal. But she couldn’t accomplish anything on her own, and Parker could help her.
“Knock, knock,” she said loudly.
“Who’s there?”
“Um…we met the other night. My name—”
“You totally blew the joke. You’re supposed to say ‘banana.’” Parker laughed. As soon as she saw Addison, she stopped laughing. “Addison, right?” Minus a few bruises, a cast on one arm, and a bandage on her head, she looked great.
“I’m surprised you remember.”
“I remember a lot—some jerk knocking me down, lots and lots of shoes. I felt a bunch of those, too. But nothing after that. Not until I woke up sitting on a bench outside the hospital with no idea how I’d gotten there. Very surreal.”
“Good story, though. You’re a historian, right?”
Parker shook her head. “Assistan
t historian. Am I in trouble?”
“No, not at all. I just wanted to talk.”
“About…”
She wet her lips. “Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we were free?”
Parker widened her eyes and glanced at the door and then at the window.
“It’s not against the law to wonder,” Addison said.
“Do you go looking for trouble or does it come looking for you?”
“A few days ago I would’ve said the latter, and then I’d say I was pretty damn good at avoiding it. Now? Not so much.”
Parker never relaxed, never stopped looking around, as if she expected a SWAT team from the Heights to bust through the windows and come out from under the bed. This much stress probably wasn’t good for her recovery.
“I should go,” Addison said. “Sorry to bug you. Hope you’re free soon. To go home, I mean.”
“Can you get me some water?” She pointed to the jug a few feet out of her reach. Addison filled Parker’s cup. As she handed it to her, Parker leaned in, keeping her voice low. “A few friends who were there that night said you got them out of the room.”
“All I did was unlock a door.”
“They said you screamed at them and shoved them through it.”
“Yeah,” she said, grimacing. “Tell them I’m sorry.”
“For saving them?”
“Well, I may have said a few things I didn’t mean.”
“You saved their lives. I doubt they really care what you said while you were doing it.”
Save a few, put a whole bunch more in danger. “I should really go.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem.” She held up the pitcher. “Do you want a top-off?”
“Not for the water. For getting me out of there. I know it was you.”
Addison shrugged. “Wasn’t me. You’re small, but I’m way too weak to carry you anywhere, let alone to the hospital.”
One of my friends told me something weird. When she was in front of the hospital, she saw a vampire dropping two seers off. Then she saw the vamp’s face. Can you imagine how shocked she was to find out I was one of the seers? And that I’d been dropped off at the hospital by the Prime of the North American zone? How much you wanna bet that’s never happened before—an unconscious seer being carried by a vampire, let alone the Prime?”
“Probably a bunch of times before the Treaty was signed.” Of course, in that case, the vamp would have considered the seer takeout.
“Are you still with him?”
Why did Addison let him claim her publicly? Now everybody wanted to talk about it. “Our relationship is unorthodox.”
“So you’re not here to speak for him?”
“Hell, no. Or I wouldn’t be using contractions, and I’d have to sound all proper.”
“Why are you here?”
“I need help. And information.”
She hesitated, flicking her head towards the window while leaving her eyes locked on Addison’s. “About them?”
Addison nodded.
“Does he know?”
She shook her head.
“Crap.” Parker ran a hand through her hair, wincing when she got to a bandage. “I think this is the worst decision in the history of decisions. And I would know—I’m a historian.” She shoved a small pad of paper and pen towards Addison. “Give me your phone number.”
Addison scribbled her digits down but not her name. It seemed like a smart thing to do. When was the last time she’d done that?
“Have you ever heard of something called the Rising?” Parker asked.
“I’ve heard the words, even said them both a few times.”
“The Rising is a legend. Although some say it’s a prophecy only disguised as legend.”
“I hate prophecies. I really, really, really hate them.”
“Are you human?” she whispered, barely moving her lips.
Addison leaned forward, as if it would help her hear something that had already been spoken. When the words clicked in, she froze, unblinking. Her voice came back to her a few seconds later. “Yes.”
Parker grimaced. “You need to practice lying.”
“I’m not lying,” she lied. “It’s just that Rhyse keeps telling me seers aren’t quite human. So when you asked, I was thinking about—”
“Yeah.” Another grimace. “A lot of practice.”
Shit. Of all the questions in the universe, why that one? This could be a problem. “Can you shield?”
Parker nodded, immediately understanding why Addison asked. “I’m not a full historian yet, but shielding is one of the first things they teach us. Because we’re information keepers.”
“That’s comforting,” she said, smiling. “And I’m a much better liar than you are.”
“Comforting in some ways, and not as much in others. But I should go. Call me…if you want to.”
Addison beelined out of the hospital and called Rhyse as soon as she passed through the front door. She didn’t even get to say hello.
“You are late.”
“By two minutes. Besides, time doesn’t matter to you.”
“But you do.” He paused. “Have you finished your tasks?”
“I still need to pack and then go by headquarters to get paid and find out if I’m even allowed to take a leave of absence. By the way, what did you tell my boss?”
“That you would not be there.”
“Yeah, but what reason did you give?”
“I am the Prime. I do not need reasons.” And when none were offered, guess what conclusion everyone jumped to. Especially after they heard about the PDA before the Treaty fiasco.
“So they all think we’re fucking. Like, regularly.”
“I suppose so.”
“Powers, Rhyse! Don’t you think I might not want everyone to know?”
“Why not?” He didn’t sound offended, just baffled.
Sure, being kept by the Prime was probably a great career move. But since she didn’t want to be kept and had no career left, what good would it do her?
“I just don’t want everyone to know. To look at me weird or treat me differently.”
“They will leave you alone now. All of them. They understand that to be seen too close to you, they put themselves in danger. I fail to see a downside.”
“Why would you? You’re not the Prime’s whore.”
“Addison.” His voice held warning.
“I gotta go.”
“Addison! We will speak of this face to face. I will send someone for you.”
“Who? A demon? No thanks, I’m good.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“You will call me in an hour.”
“Yes, my lord,” she spat before hanging up.
A few minutes into her cab ride home, her phone rang again. But it wasn’t him, it was Dawn.
Crap. Think of an excuse. ‘I can’t meet for coffee because the Prime wants a blowjob.’ Or, ‘I wish I could, but I’m too busy having absolutely no life and nothing to do. Rain check?’ Fuck it. Maybe caffeine would help her calm down and make her headache go away.
“Hey, Dawn. What’s up?”
“I wanted to invite you to a Black Sun party.”
“What’s a Black Sun party?”
“What witches call a solar eclipse. This afternoon is an important one—it’s called…a sero? Sorra? Saros? Something like that. Anyway, it falls on the solstice and that hasn’t happened in a couple decades. Herrick, the warlock I told you about…Well, his coven is having some kind of get together. We’re going to watch the eclipse and then party all night. I thought it might be fun to bring a friend.”
To hang out with witches? Ugh. “I wish I could, but—”
“Herrick wants to meet you.”
I’m sure he does. This wasn’t a friend being a friend. This was the witches wanting to get in good with the Prime’s whore and using the whore’s friend to make it happen.
“I can’t, D
awn. The party is all night, right? Yeah, I can’t.” Because that’s past my curfew. And I can’t be out when the vamps are. No, she had to be home where only one of them was.
“No nude dancing around a fire, I promise.”
Fuck it. She should just go. Rhyse would be so pissed—maybe even as pissed as she was right now. She wouldn’t be in danger. He’d said she could block and beat a witch. “Will there be any other kinds of supers there?”
“No.”
Addison clicked her teeth together. Stop and think about it. Don’t let your frustration get you killed. “Nah, I can’t. Maybe on the next...Black Sun.”
“Oh, okay.” She sounded so disappointed. Like her chin had just hit the gravel. Maybe she was a friend being a friend, and Addison was just too paranoid to know the difference.
“We could still meet for coffee, though.”
“Sure.” Dawn’s full-pep popped back in her voice. “When and where?”
“Bella Bru at noon. We can have lunch.” The coffee shop was right next to the facility where her mom lived. She could go there after coffee, start the paperwork to move her mom, and still be at her apartment well before sunset.
“That’s perfect. I’ll go straight to the eclipse viewing afterwards, so if you change your mind, you can tag along.”
“Yeah, sure.” Not gonna happen. She’d had more than her fill of supers lately.
After a quick bye-and-see-you-soon, she paid the cabbie and went into her apartment, focusing on packing things Rhyse would hate.
Fifty
Trying to understand Addison’s nonsensical reaction would do Rhyse no good, so he focused on something more predictable: higher beings. Beyond the basic, their needs were simple. Power—who has it and who wants it. What happened at the celebration could undermine his leadership, allowing another being or race to take power.
To break the line, the individual had to be near it, i.e., one of the champions.
He went through each race, what their champion would gain and who was capable of summoning that many demons. The angel and demon were scratched off the list immediately, if for no other reason than they were in the center of the pentagram, not near its edges.
That left the vampires, the werewolves, and the mages. He should also consider the lower races. It wasn’t impossible for the witches, or even the seers, to have had a hand in it. Was Addison’s friend Logan involved? He hadn’t run away, but his assistance could’ve been a ruse. Although the seer looked defeated before anything happened—not likely if he knew the contest would never occur.
Unseen (The Heights, Vol. 1) Page 25